A town in South America is living in fear after several sightings of a 'creepy gnome' that locals claim stalks the streets at night, The Sun reports.

The little person  who wears a pointy hat and has a distinctive sideways walk  was caught on video last week by a terrified group of youngsters.

Teenager Jose Alvarez  who filmed the gnome  yesterday told national newspaper El Tribuno that they caught the creature while larking about in their hometown of General Guemes, in the province of Salta, Argentina.

He said: We were chatting about our last fishing trip. It was one in the morning. I began to film a bit with my mobile phone while the others were chatting and joking. Suddenly we heard something  a weird noise as if someone was throwing stones."

"We looked to one side and saw that the grass was moving. To begin with we thought it was a dog but when we saw this gnome-like figure begin to emerge we were really afraid."

Alvarez added that other locals had come forward to say they had spotted the gnome.

He said: This is no joke. We are still afraid to go out  just like everyone else in the neighborhood now."

"One of my friends was so scared after seeing that thing that we had to take him to the hospital, Alvarez said.

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